News Bites: Vick, venture, violence and how to own the Sopranos strip club

A woman who declined to give her name arrived home Monday afternoon to find her apartment, in background, severely damaged by a fire that started in the basement unit of the South Seattle building. “My kids were in there,” she said. No one was injured in the fire. The fire department blamed it on improperly discarded smoking materials. (Dan DeLong / P-I) Read the story.

Seattle:

Police chief: Come on. We’re not that bad. Sure, oversight’s not perfect, but it’s better than at other departments. That was Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske’s defense before a civilian panel last night. Take a look at our special report, Undue Influence, for a taste of what he’s dealing with. P-I reporter Amy Rolph reports.

Seattle’s “serial” entrepreneurs. When it comes to making a business work, some people have a gift — and see no need to stop using it. P-I venture reporter John Cook lists some of Seattle’s most prolific and successful businessmen.

A Turkish makeover. A designer is giving the wife of the man expected to be Turkey’s next president a new look — but it will still include her controversial headscarf. The BBC reports.

Iraq: Just get Maliki out. If he can’t unify the country — soon — the Iraqi prime minister had better make room for someone who can, said Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Hussein aides on trial. In their first day at trial, 15 of Saddam’s aides professed their innocence in suppressing a 1991 uprising in southern Iraq. The New York Times has more.